Tannenberg News

Last Monday, 110 years ago, the German order was given to attack the Russian forces, which would start one of the most decisive battles of World War I: The Battle Of Tannenberg. The following day, the battle officially commenced.

This battle is renowned for demonstrating the effectiveness of the German military strategies and highlighting the Russian’s weak command structures and poor logistics.

These differences in leadership and logistics became even more apparent after the battle had concluded. The Russians had suffered heavy losses, with up to 50,000 killed and 92,000 taken prisoner. The Germans in the meanwhile lost only about 20,000 men.



[h2]In-game event[/h2]

In-game, the Central Powers still haven't managed to snag a victory in the campaigns. However, their difference is starting to shrink. Last year, they had around 50,000 more casualties. In the Battle of Verdun Campaign, the difference was only about 7000.

Starting today until September 5th, you can play participate in The Battle Of Tannenberg campaign. All casualties in Frontlines & Maneuver game modes in both Verdun and Tannenberg will be added to the total losses. The winning side will be whichever side suffers the least amount of killed and wounded soldiers!

So, will the Central Powers come out victorious this time, or will Entente walk away with yet another victory?


[h2]News from the Italian Front[/h2]

Next week, Isonzo receives the Solstice Update! The Austro-Hungarians will charge the town of Nervesa della Bataglia from the banks of the Piave. Montello features many burning forests, trenches, farms and ends in urban warfare for control over the train station.

Alongside Montello, included are the M.91 Russisches Repetier-Gewehr (Mosin-Nagant), Schwerhandgranate and the Shellshocked Units Pack DLC with all the blood and bandages you would never wish for. Check out the full announcement:

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1556790/view/4249790899170884237

We made some improvements to the TAA Anti-Aliasing setting, making edges of objects (including foliage) look more smooth.

The patch download size is expected to be around 17 mb.

This Sunday 110 years ago, the first World War had officially begun. At the time, no one could've predicted just how large and significant this conflict would become, how many lives would be lost or changed forever.

Every year we commemorate this day, and as customary we've enabled the Film Memoir mode for free on PC. While normally exclusive to the owners of the Supporter Pack DLC, everyone on PC can now enable the Film Memoir mode in the popup window or by going to the Options, then Graphics. It'll be available until August 5th!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[h2]Film Memoir Screenshot Contest[/h2]
This year however, there's more! Let's take a moment to stay away from the bloodshed and instead put our focus on the footprint of WW1. This war left a mark on the continent, much still visible to this day.

We invite you to take the best possible Film Memoir screenshots of the environments in Verdun, Tannenberg and Isonzo that show both the beauty of the many theaters of war and the marks WW1 left behind. Think trenches, barbed wire, craters, destroyed trees, you name it! Remember that Film Memoir needs to be turned on and we highly recommend you disable the UI.

You get two entries for this contest: 1 by posting a screenshot on Discord in the dedicated channel and 1 by posting a screenshot on Reddit with the Memoir Contest flair. These should not be the same screenshots! We'll select 5 winners on Discord and Reddit each, who'll win a DLC pack for Isonzo or the game itself if they don't own it yet. One person cannot win on both platforms and the contest will be closed on August 5th. Good luck!



[h3]Montello Teaser[/h3]
As a little extra, here's a small preview of the flyover for Isonzo's next map: Montello!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

So ends another campaign. It was a closely fought battle, with 538,375 Central Powers casualties to 528,779 Entente losses - a difference of less than 10,000. The Entente came out on top again, but not by a huge margin. In the historical battle there were probably somewhat more losses for the Entente, but the overall outcome of the battle was complicated. Parts of the French army actually made some of the largest advances since trench warfare began in earnest, but nothing close to what General Nivelle described before the battle. He claimed that a breakthrough could be achieved within two days, which absolutely did not happen.

A village devastated by fighting during the Second Battle of the Aisne.

The morale impact of this failure, alongside heavy casualties, led to French mutinies and Nivelle's replacement. While the new commander-in-chief General Petain immediately established a more defensive posture and took time to restore morale among his troops, the British continued offensive action for the rest of 1917. Later in the year there were some limited French offensives such as the successful Battle of La Malmaison, which built on ground captured during the Second Battle of the Aisne.

[h2]Good luck out there soldiers![/h2]

[h2]New Campaign Event in Verdun & Tannenberg[/h2]
From today until next Friday 24th, the Second Battle of the Aisne Campaign will be running in Verdun and Tannenberg. Will the Entente or the Central Powers emerge victorious in this epic battle of attrition?

[h3]What is a campaign event?[/h3]
For those who haven’t fought before, our campaign events are special multi-front battles in Verdun and Tannenberg, where every kill is tallied up, and the side which manages to lose the least troops wins. You can earn a medal for participating in the campaign, with a shinier medal for fighting on multiple fronts. The Second Battle of the Aisne Campaign will run from Friday May 17 and end on Friday May 24.



[h2]The Second Battle of the Aisne[/h2]
French General Nivelle planned the Second Battle of the Aisne as a breakthrough offensive for early 1917, following the major battles of Verdun and the Somme in 1916. He expected the German Army to be exhausted. His vision was for a decisive victory in 48 hours, and he put his reputation on the line by threatening to resign if the offensive wasn't approved.

It involved a massive coordination of troops, starting with British attacks towards Arras, then French forces beginning their assault further south in the direction of the Aisne river. Ultimately the battle was not a clear defeat for the French, but Nivelle's grandiose claims about achieving a decisive victory made it feel like that for the soldiers suffering massive casualties in the battle. Morale fell throughout the French Army, with units starting to mutiny - often taking the form of holding a defensive position but refusing any orders to attack. Desertions also increased.



Nivelle was fired and replaced with General Pétain, who moved quickly to stamp out mutinous sentiment with a combination of carrot and stick - though mostly carrot. A small number of soldiers were shot for mutiny, but he mostly put effort into improving food, providing better equipment, increasing pay, and allowing for more leave. This worked, and the morale crisis was defused.

[h3]Quiet on the Eastern Front[/h3]
In the East, the Russians were no longer fighting under a Tsar - the February revolution had dethroned Tsar Nicholas II, and since March 2 the country was governed by the Russian Provisional Government. There would be no grand Russian offensive until the Kerensky Offensive in June, intended to knock Austria-Hungary out of the war. Instead it would effectively break the back of the Russian Army. But that's a story for another time.

The Tsar blessing troops earlier in the war.

However, it wasn't all revolution and disaster in the East. The Romanians successfully fought off a major German - Austro-Hungarian offensive from July to September, halting the Central Powers advance and inflicting heavy casualties.

[h2]Good luck soldiers![/h2]